This afternoon, when I saw Tina’s training plan for her next half marathon, I realized I don’t have a new goal in sight when it comes to running. For the past two years, I’ve been training for either a half marathon or a marathon. Right now, I’m really enjoying life and my current social life. Therefore, I’m not really excited about signing up for a marathon before the Savannah or NYC Marathon (haven’t finalized my decision on which one I’m doing yet). In addition, I don’t have any fun half marathons on the horizon, though I’m sure that will change soon. But, I realized that a training plan isn’t something that’s required just for a longer race.
Therefore, I reviewed my list of upcoming races and chose the NYRR Mini 10K as the next race for which I want to seriously train. There are a few reasons I chose this race:
- It isn’t until June 11th so it gives me plenty of time.
- It will help me get back into half marathon training mode since I’m sure my awesome running buddies and I will find a half sooner versus later.
- There are other bloggers coming in from out of town which makes this an even bigger race since I’ll be excited. What better way to enjoy a race with friends than another PR?
- I haven’t run a 10K in ages; in fact I’ve only run 2 in the past 2 years! Most of the NYRR races are 4 milers, 5 milers, or half marathons.
- The Mini 10K is an awesome women’s only race with lots of history!
The Mini has been on the NYRR annual calendar since 1972. This year marks the 40th running. The event has been a model for women’s road races around the world. It has attracted Olympians, World Champions, and world record holders and has been the site of several world-best performances. Winners have come from Australia, Canada, England, Kenya, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, and the United States.
Similar to my half marathon, I am giving myself two goals: a stretch and a realistic. The my 10K PR is a 1:02:43 (10:05 pace). Therefore, my realistic goal is to beat this by keeping a 9:55 pace and my reach goal is to beat this by keeping a 9:30 pace which would be a 58:59.
In order to reach these goals, I am using Runner’s World Smart Coach which I’ve used many times before. This is my best tool for any training plan other than a half marathon. For half marathons, I’ve used Hal Higdon’s training plans. The Runner’s World Smart Coach is easy to understand, due to it’s links, and print so it’s conveniently posted in multiple places!
Here’s my plan for the next few weeks. I’ll be sticking to it as much as possible, as I may need to adjust days here and there due to travel or other plans.
I like that this plan is manageable due it the 4 days of training and includes speed work, tempo, and long runs! Since this course includes lots of hills, including Harlem Hill, I’ll have to keep up my hill workouts in order to achieve my goal!
What’s your next race? Do you use a training plan for races shorter than a half marathon?
